GIRLS’ WEEKEND IN VEGAS

Four friends, four dream weddings!

On a girly weekend in Las Vegas, best friends Alex, Molly, Serena and Jayne are just supposed to have fun and forget men—but they end up meeting their perfect matches! Will the love they find in Vegas stay in Vegas?

Find out in this sassy, fun and wildly romantic mini-series all about love and friendship!

Meet the girls:

Alex

SAVING CINDERELLA! by Myrna Mackenzie June

Molly

VEGAS PREGNANCY SURPRISE by Shirley Jump July

Serena

INCONVENIENTLY WED! by Jackie Braun August

Jayne

WEDDING DATE WITH THE BEST MAN by Melissa McClone September

Dear Reader

Las Vegas is a city that practically explodes with sights, sounds and sensation. Everything happens fast. It’s exciting…and in most cases, very temporary.

That was what Alexandra Lowell was expecting. She was going to Las Vegas for a short, no-regrets weekend with her friends.

But then trouble came calling. Wyatt McKendrick, a rich, gorgeous loner, stepped into this book and made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. One that would keep her in the city temporarily. Fighting her attraction to him all the way.

So I had to wonder…What would happen when the hourglass emptied and these two allergic-to-love people finally said goodbye? Maybe…nothing? No love, no harm done?

Hmm, that could happen—but…this is Las Vegas, where the impossible becomes possible, and things a girl never imagined happening…happen. Even love.

Myrna Mackenzie

Saving Cinderella!

By

Myrna Mackenzie

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Alexandra Lowell’s blog, pre-girls’ weekend in Vegas:

This trip to Las Vegas may be sudden and unplanned (my good friend Serena’s great idea after our friend Jayne was left at the altar), but I think it’s going to be a fantastic experience for all of us—not just Jayne.

All of us—Molly, Serena, Jayne and I—could use some time just to kick back, and Las Vegas is the kind of place to do it. I’ve never been there, but I’ve seen all the ads. Las Vegas—a place where people have no past and no future. How cool is that?

We’re going to stay in a first-class hotel: McKendrick’s. On the website it looks gorgeous. Sumptuous. The kind of place where a girl goes to get pampered and forget her troubles.

I’ve had my share of troubles, so I can’t wait for this weekend. Just my friends—girls out for a supercharged vacation with no men to complicate our lives. What could be more fun than that? Let me repeat that. NO MEN TO COMPLICATE OUR LIVES!!

Stop back soon, when I’ll update you on just what happened during our wild weekend. (But I can assure you that none of it will involve men, or anything remotely liable to lead a girl into something as crazy as love. That is just not going to happen.)

MILLS & BOON

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Excerpt from Alexandra Lowell’s profile:

Hometown: San Diego, California (where I am going back to after this trip to Vegas!).

Relationship Status: single forever. (There’s no reallife Prince Charming, and I’m okay with that. Really, I am!)

Interests: my friends, my business—certainly not Wyatt McKendrick, my new boss

Favorite Quotations: “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”—William James; “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.”—Katherine Hepburn

About Me: I love cute and silly dangly earrings. I’m a little bit driven, prone to doing ten things at once, and I love feeling that I can make a real difference in someone’s life. In fact I have this teensy little problem with trying to help people too much at times. Especially guys. I help them, I fall for them, they’re grateful and then they’re gone.

Employer: back in sunny San Diego I work as a hotel front desk clerk, and I own a San Diego travel website. That, however, has changed (temporarily). A weekend in Las Vegas turned complicated, and I am soon to be (temporarily, as I said) working for Wyatt McKendrick, owner of McKendrick’s exclusive resort. Wyatt is tall, gorgeous, dark, mysterious, totally unattainable, and being around him is enough to make a girl crazy. Thank goodness I’ll be leaving Las Vegas soon. (Because I am so very temporary.)

PROLOGUE

ALEXANDRA LOWELL stared up at the shining façade of McKendrick’s of Las Vegas, the most exclusive hotel she would probably ever enter in her life, and hoped that this weekend wasn’t a mistake. Her bank account was practically sobbing at the expense, but her friend Jayne was in desperate straits and in need of some serious escapism, so Alex was going to forget about that poor bank account. For now.

She smiled at her three friends. “I’m setting my mental countdown clock. We’re going to have one awesome weekend in an alternative universe,” she told them cheerfully.

Serena chuckled. “Alternative universe, Alex? It’s Las Vegas, not another planet.”

Alex gave her friend a patient smile. “Serena, come on. You’ve been in my apartment. I love it to pieces, I love finally having my own home, but it’s a little box. This is…it’s…”

“An alternative universe,” Molly agreed with a laugh.

“Okay, you’re right,” Serena said. “This place is breathtaking, isn’t it? Look at all these people, the bustle, the sounds, the over-the-top opulence of it all.”

“And we’ve got a whole weekend,” Jayne said. “Darn it, we’re going to have fun, aren’t we?”

Her smile was bright, but Alex knew she was only wearing it for their benefit. Jayne was supposed to have been getting married this weekend, but that wasn’t happening. Alex’s heart hurt for her. Friends just didn’t let friends go through heartbreak alone. Friends did everything possible to cheer each other up.

“Absolutely,” Alex agreed. “This was a great idea, Serena.” Serena had been the one to suggest a Las Vegas escape, and already the excitement of an adventure was starting to build until Alex could barely contain herself.

“So…do you think it’s true that lots of unmentionably wild things happen here?” Molly asked.

“I certainly hope so,” Jayne said with dogged determination. “We deserve a little wildness. For this weekend, San Diego and everyone in it ceases to exist.”

Which was fantastic advice, Alex couldn’t help thinking. Jayne wasn’t the only one at a turning point in her life. Alex had her own issues she wanted left at home.

“Absolutely,” Molly said. “The only people who matter this weekend are you, my very best friends. We’re out to set the world on fire.”

“And no regrets,” Serena said. “When we remember this time, I want us to have major grins on our faces.”

“When we leave here,” Alex declared, “we’re only taking one thing with us—a happy glow. We’re never going to look back and question the choices we made this weekend.”

With those words, they all smiled at each other and marched toward their destinies.

CHAPTER ONE

SATURDAY afternoon, Alex, tired but glowing from the spa, shopping, dining and partying they’d crammed in to their weekend, dashed downstairs for a souvenir menu from Sparkle, the rooftop restaurant. Tomorrow she and her friends would leave Las Vegas, and who knew if she’d ever return? But one look at the heavily pregnant concierge’s face and she knew something was wrong.

Still, the woman pasted on a weak smile. “May I help you?” she asked, her voice a thin thread.

Alex hesitated. The woman’s smile was fake, but it would be intrusive to ask questions, wouldn’t it? Alex reminded herself that in the past her habit of rushing in to help without being asked had resulted in her being told to mind her own business. Or worse. She tried to bar the painful memory of what had happened some of the other times she’d overstepped the boundaries. But dwelling on her past mistakes wasn’t helping this situation. The woman still looked distressed, and…

“I’m sorry,” Alex said. “I don’t mean to be nosy, but I can tell something’s wrong. Is there anything I can do to help? Someone I can call?”

The woman’s eyes widened. “No! You’re a guest! I mean…I’m fine. Just a little tired.”

Instantly Alex felt both guilty that she’d made the woman uncomfortable, and chagrined that she’d once again made the mistake of pushing too hard. So many of the painful moments in her life had begun with her trying to help too much. The memory of her latest doomed relationship nagged at her.

Stop it, she ordered herself. Apologize for making this woman uncomfortable and go. Don’t think about the mistakes you’ve made.

The concierge suddenly let out a gasp, pulling Alex back to the present. She glanced down and realized that with her attention elsewhere, she’d missed something major. Pressed close against the desk with her arms folded in front of her, the woman had managed to—mostly—disguise the fact that she was pregnant. Immediately every other thought Alex had vanished. This woman was in real distress. That was a total game changer. No hesitating allowed.

“Forget that I’m a guest,” Alex said. “Who would you like me to call?”

The woman looked like a Vogue cover model, her hair and make-up perfect, but her eyes were incredibly round and scared. “I—I don’t know. I—” She had risen and was looking at her belly. “It’s not supposed to be happening. I have four more weeks, and—I’m not ready. We’re not ready. I need someone to watch my son, and I promised my boss, Wyatt, that I had weeks before he’d need a replacement. It can’t be time yet.”

But it was, and clearly something needed to be done.

“I’m sure Wyatt will understand,” Alex said.

The woman looked at her as if she were insane. “Wyatt likes things orderly. No messes or craziness.”

Well, then, Wyatt certainly wouldn’t like her, Alex couldn’t help thinking. She ignored that thought. Wyatt, whoever he was, wasn’t her concern. “Are you in pain?”

“No. Yes. I feel strange. Different than last time. Things feel…faster. But I have another hour to work. Lois, the night concierge, isn’t due back from her vacation until tomorrow, so Wyatt can’t even find a sub for me today. I really need to stay.” She gasped and put a hand on her back.

Somehow Alex hid her own distress. “Don’t worry—Belinda,” she said, reading the nameplate on the woman’s desk. “I’m trained in basic emergency procedures and I’ll help you. Would you feel more comfortable sitting? You don’t have to stand for my sake.”

The woman’s eyes grew wider. “I…can’t sit. I’ll get the chair wet. My water…”

“Don’t worry about the chair,” Alex said, circling the desk. “You need to get off your feet.”

The woman sat. Her perfect skin turned pale.

“Do you have your doctor’s number?”

“In my wallet. In my purse. In the drawer.”

In mere seconds Alex had the information and placed the call. She spoke to the receptionist, gave her Belinda’s name, and received instructions. She called over a young man from the registration desk and asked him to locate his boss.

“Your boss will need to find someone to take Belinda’s place. She’s going to the hospital.”

The young man looked at Belinda’s stricken face.

“Randy, I know how important these next few weeks are to Wyatt,” the woman said, her voice breathless and strained. “It’s awards season. Reviewers will be visiting. A whole series of them. And they’ll be anonymous. We can’t let down our guard.”

“I’m sure Wyatt will understand,” Alex said, even though she didn’t know any such thing. She sent the young man scurrying to call his boss.

The woman let out a cry. “Breathe,” Alex instructed, her voice gentle but firm. “Forget the hotel. Breathe out.”

Belinda obeyed. Alex knelt at her side, held her hand, and began to coach her through the pain.

An expensively dressed woman appeared at the desk, her expression uncertain. “The Bistro Lizette?”

Belinda was bent over. Alex reached out and grabbed a map off the desk, glancing at it. “Second floor, west wing. I’ve been there. You’ll love it.” She smiled, sending the woman away.

In the distance an ambulance could be heard. Alex wondered what her friends would think of this.

As another person appeared, she gave him instructions and sent him on his way, but she couldn’t help noting that the man at the front desk looked concerned.

“Wyatt’s on the way,” he said, appearing at Alex’s side as she began to coach Belinda through another contraction. “Maybe you should move out of the public eye. This hotel is Wyatt’s baby. No pun intended.”

“Leave Wyatt to me,” Alex said. “She’s in pain. I’m not moving her until the ambulance arrives.”

She certainly hoped this Wyatt person didn’t give Belinda grief for not timing her baby’s arrival better. She also hoped he wasn’t that tall, gorgeous, intimidating man in the suit who had just entered the lobby and turned in her direction.

Wyatt headed across the lobby toward the concierge’s desk. There, two EMTs were placing his very pregnant concierge on a stretcher. A slender woman with long dark hair smiled at her, took her hand, and turned to a man who had neared the desk. The man nodded, took the map the woman had obviously given him, and backed away from the area.

“I’ve called your husband and directed him to meet you at the hospital. Your neighbor will watch your son. I’ll handle things until someone comes,” the woman told Belinda, her calm, clear voice softened by distance. “Don’t worry. Everything’s under control.”

At that moment Randy at the front desk saw Wyatt and headed him off. “Wyatt, I tried to get the woman to move Belinda to somewhere less public. People are staring. But she told me that if you were upset she would handle you—just as cool as you please.”

Wyatt raised an eyebrow. Because of his height and his high expectations of himself and others he had a tendency to intimidate. Women—people—didn’t offer to handle him, as a rule. The fact that this one had made her…interesting.

As he watched, a woman in a flowered blouse started toward the empty registration desk, frowned, and turned in his direction. But after one look at Wyatt, and at Randy’s scowl, she headed toward the woman with Belinda. The still smiling, calm woman, Wyatt couldn’t help noting.

He should step in. Help. It was what he would have normally done, but…not yet. The EMTs were questioning Belinda, and the woman taking her place…He had to see what happened. If necessary, he would do damage control.

As he watched, the guest in the flowered blouse began to apologize profusely, explaining how she had overflowed the bathtub, but the dark-haired woman smiled sweetly, took one fleeting look at Belinda and picked up the phone.

“Please don’t worry,” she told the woman, writing down her room number. “It’s being taken care of. Please let us know if you have any other problems.”

The woman with the plumbing problem clutched her savior’s hand, thanking the dark-haired beauty.

Correction, he thought. Beauty wasn’t the right word, exactly. The woman wasn’t classically pretty, but there was something in her manner that gave the illusion of beauty. Despite this odd situation, she acted as if she did this kind of thing every day. And when Belinda moaned, she offered soothing words with what seemed like genuine concern.

Belinda’s moan had an effect on him, too. She was too pale, suffering. He had to help. “Call the main office and have them send anyone who can spare a few minutes to help during their breaks,” he told Randy. “I will, of course, pay them double time for the minutes they give up. We’ll manage to cover. For today, anyway,” he said, striding toward Belinda.

“Wyatt, I’m sorry,” Belinda said as he reached her, and took her hand.

“For creating a life? Nothing to be sorry for.”

“But my replace—” A long, anguished moan escaped her.

Wyatt’s whole body reacted to her pain. “She’s all right?” he asked one of the EMTs.

“She’s having a baby, man, but everything looks good,” the man said. “Pain’s part of the process.”

“Do not think about McKendrick’s,” he told Belinda. “That’s an order. I found a replacement this morning.”

At his words Belinda smiled weakly. “You found someone? Good. I can go now,” she told the EMT. Then she turned to the dark-haired woman. “Thank you for keeping me sane.”

“Thank you” the woman said. “It’s not every day I get to do something so satisfying.”

As the EMTs pushed Belinda away, the woman started toward the elevators.

Wyatt reached her in three long strides. “Excuse me, but who in blazes are you?”

She stopped, staring up at him with eyes the color of sky. With her full attention concentrated on him, he felt as if a great big fist of awareness had hit him square in the chest. Who on earth had eyes that blue?

“No one,” she said.

For a moment Wyatt thought she was answering his question about her eyes…until he realized that she was telling him who she was. “I’m just a guest who was in the lobby when Belinda’s labor pains started. No big deal.” She started to leave.

“No big deal? Sorry, but…no. I own this place, and it was a very big deal to me. Whoever you are, you’re not ‘no one’. You handled a woman in labor, a very flustered Randy, the concierge desk of an unfamiliar hotel, and you managed to soothe a nervous guest all at the same time. No guests were harmed or inconvenienced, and the flow of the hotel was largely uninterrupted. Tell me, Miss…no one, do you do this kind of thing often?”

For some reason that finally seemed to fluster her. “Not exactly this kind of thing, this baby thing, but unfortunately, yes, I have a tendency to jump into these kinds of situations. I once tried to give someone CPR, only to discover that the victim was part of a group of amateur filmmakers making a movie. It was embarrassing for me and frustrating for them.”

Her voice was low. She frowned. “I don’t regret helping Belinda. The worst kind of ogre would have stepped in. But that other stuff…interfering with your customers…I really didn’t even stop to think. I may have given out some incorrect information, and you probably already have some emergency system set up. Some protocol that should have been followed. No wonder that guy at the desk was so irritable.”

She looked up at him, those sky eyes looking slightly vulnerable. An intense awareness of her as an attractive woman, not just as a woman who had helped his employee and his hotel, swept through Wyatt. He frowned. Guests were off-limits.

He shook his head. “I’m glad you didn’t hesitate. You kept things running and helped Belinda cope. From what I could see, and what Randy said, you took charge of a difficult situation with calm efficiency.” His tone brooked no argument.

She gave a low, delicious laugh. “Do you think I could get that in writing? I know I got rather bossy with Randy, and other than getting medical help for Belinda, some people would call what I did sticking my nose in where it didn’t belong. Did I really act as if it was perfectly normal for me to field a question about plumbing? I hope that problem got taken care of by the right people. If it did, then I’m just glad that things worked out and nothing too terrible happened. Anyway, now you can get back to making your guests happy,” she said with a smile. “It really is a beautiful hotel.”

She patted his arm, as if he was another guest who needed soothing. For some reason that bothered him. Which was ridiculous. What this woman thought of him was immaterial. He never let others’ opinions of him matter. Except where McKendrick’s reputation was concerned.

Which brought him full circle to what was really important. This woman had kept things from getting out of control. She’d impressed him in a way none of the temps he’d interviewed had been able to. How had she managed it so effortlessly?

Wyatt didn’t know, but he intended to find out. With Belinda’s departure, the time for contemplation had passed. In his line of work, the difference between a good businessman and a mediocre one was knowing when to be bold. The door opportunity had opened could suddenly slam shut.

“Excuse me, Miss…?”

“Lowell. Alexandra Lowell. But almost everyone calls me Alex.”

Almost everyone. For half a second he wondered if those who didn’t fall into that category were men. No matter. He cleared his throat. “Alex. All right. If you don’t mind my asking, what do you do for a living?”

Those big blue eyes blinked. “I work the front desk of a chain hotel and run a Web site promoting the sights and sounds of San Diego.”

“Ah.” That explained things a little. She already had some of the skills a good concierge possessed. While he, he reminded himself, had an empty concierge desk and no prospects in sight.

That was a problem. McKendrick’s was known for its opulence, its attention to detail and, above all, its service. This hotel was the project that had saved Wyatt’s life. He’d built it from the ground up and poured his soul into it during the dark days, when he’d come to a fork in the road and realized that if he didn’t channel his anger into a meaningful goal, he would destroy himself.

These days the resort was a well-oiled machine, but even well-oiled machines could break down without care. A few customers without access to a competent concierge to pamper them could flood the review Web sites and do a lot of damage. Losing Belinda left a hole in customer service that needed to be filled immediately. He could run interference and handle some of her duties, but not all the time. Besides, some guests found him intimidating. He needed to take action. Now.

Wyatt glanced at Alex, a woman guests apparently warmed to, one used to directing people to the local sights and sounds, albeit those of a different city. None of the candidates he’d interviewed thus far could have done what Alex had done. His instincts were urging him to make a move.

Still he resisted. She was a total unknown, who claimed she had a tendency to rush in to help people. That meant she could be emotional, which could mean trouble. And she had those incredible vulnerable eyes that he found far too attractive.

“If you run a Web site, I assume you’re comfortable with Internet research?” he said, probing.

“The web is my weakness,” she confessed. “McKendrick’s site, by the way, has some great features. The virtual tour of the restaurants and clubs is amazing…although a menu for the ice cream bar at the Slide Pool would be helpful. That is, if you’re looking for suggestions.” She looked suddenly uncomfortable. “I—Please forget I said that. I apologize if I was rude.”

The woman just offered you a suggestion on how to improve the hotel Web site, McKendrick. At least interview her, his instincts screamed.

Okay, no avoiding the obvious. Despite his flaws and the mistakes he’d made in his life, he had an unerring instinct about what worked for McKendrick’s. He’d made a fortune following his gut feelings. Randy had been a spontaneous hire, driven purely by instinct, but Wyatt had never regretted the decision. Besides, with Belinda gone he couldn’t afford more time interviewing people who couldn’t handle the job. And this was Las Vegas. Fast. Temporary. A person you met today might be gone two hours from now. And Alex was a guest. Just passing through.

“I wonder—do you have a minute to step into my office?” he asked suddenly. “I have some questions.”

Now she looked wary. “I have friends waiting.”

He nodded. “Five minutes? It’s important.”

Still she hesitated.

For a second he thought he heard her mutter something under her breath about the wisdom of counting to ten. But then she nodded. “All right. After all, what difference can five minutes make?”

A lot, Wyatt thought. A lot could happen, and he had plenty of experience about all the bad things. This time, however, he was hoping for something more positive.

CHAPTER TWO

WYATT glanced at Alex as they moved down the hallway toward his office. She was tall and willowy and…restless. Moments earlier she had excused herself to make a call.

“My apologies for stealing you away from your friends,” he said.

“I just had to let them know where I am. They were expecting me several minutes ago. But since I’m here…could you help me forward a card to Belinda? Babies are important.”

“Do you have children of your own?” he asked.

“No. I’m not married.”

Wyatt felt his senses go on full alert, coupled with a slight sense of relief—no doubt a knee-jerk reaction to the fact that this beauty hadn’t been claimed. But there was also wariness because she hadn’t been claimed. He’d never allow himself to pursue a woman who wanted children. His kind didn’t promise forever, so they didn’t produce babies.

No matter. She would either say yes to what he was about to propose, and their new relationship would create distance between them, or she would say no and he’d never see her again.

Five minutes, he reminded himself, opening the door of his office. “Have a seat.”

She looked at the leather chair as if it might have sharp teeth hiding beneath the upholstery.

“Problem?”

“No. I was just thinking that I feel a bit like a kid who’s unexpectedly been sent to the principal’s office. Mr.—Mr.…?”

“McKendrick. Wyatt McKendrick.”

“Of course. Mr. McKendrick. I’m not sure what this is about, but I have to tell you that I’m pretty uncomfortable.”

“And frank.”

She shrugged. “That’s me.” But, despite her discomfort, she sat. She was wearing a white dress, and he couldn’t help noticing that she had amazing legs. He frowned at his reaction.

“Total honesty does bother some people,” she conceded, and he realized that she had noticed his frown.

Wyatt shook his head. “Honesty is…” What I demand of my employees, he’d meant to say. But he didn’t want to come on too strong. Starting with employee rules would be the wrong approach. “I’ll make this brief, Alex. I’m sure you could see how concerned Belinda was about her replacement.”

Alex looked wary. “Ye-es.”

“She takes her work very seriously, and she excels at it.”

“A good concierge must be hard to find.”

“Yes. The job requires someone who can think on her feet.”

“Of course.”

“Someone who knows how to make customers feel at ease, who makes them feel that their concerns matter, whether they need tickets to a show or have a plumbing problem.”

She blinked. Wyatt supposed the plumbing comment had been too much, since she’d handled such a problem only minutes earlier. But he didn’t have any time to waste. She was a guest here. Temporary.

“Of course a good concierge also knows every detail of the city, but that can be learned,” he said.

Alex frowned. “I don’t understand. Why are you telling me this?”

“I find myself temporarily short a concierge.”

“You told Belinda you’d hired someone.”

“I lied. She would have worried, and right now she needs to concentrate on herself and her family.”

A small, pretty smile turned Alex’s extraordinary face even more intriguing. “You don’t sound like the ogre Randy made you out to be.”

He raised one eyebrow.

A guilty flush coloured her cheeks. “Forget I said that.”

“Already forgotten. Randy, for all his fussing, is good at what he does.”

“And as the owner of this…palace of a hotel,” she said, “that’s very important to you?”

“Absolutely. I only want the best people.”

Suddenly she looked more relaxed. “Good. For a minute I was worried. It almost sounded as if you were going to offer me a job.”

“I am. I need a sub for Belinda.” He surprised himself by blurting it out. Even though he was in a bit of a bind, he’d still intended to give the issue a little more thought. Do a quick background check. No matter. All that could be done after the fact.

“You can’t be serious. I’ve never been a concierge.”

“And I’d never owned a hotel until this one. Some people are naturals.”

“You know nothing about me.”

“I know enough. And I’ll find out the rest.”

“I could be a total idiot.”

“No. You couldn’t.”

“I could be a thief.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

She gave him the kind of look people reserved for small boys who were trying to snow them. “I could live in San Diego.” She glanced at him from beneath very long lashes. Her expression clearly said, Give me an answer for that.

Wyatt allowed himself the smallest of smiles. “You mentioned that. San Diego’s a beautiful city.”

“I know. I love it.”

“And…you’re not interested in relocating.”

“I’m sorry. No. I’m invested in the city. In addition to my Web site, San Diego Your Way, I’m hoping to open a shop of the same name soon. So, while I’m flattered that you would offer to hire me, references unseen, I can’t move.”

Okay, this was going to be difficult. But then he’d been raised in difficult circumstances. Horrible circumstances involving beating and ego-killing insults. Situations that were merely difficult didn’t faze him at all.

“You couldn’t be persuaded to relocate even for a few months?”

Alex shook her head, her sable hair brushing her cheeks. “I’m sorry. It wouldn’t be practical. I have a job.”

“At the front desk of a hotel chain. I take it that you already have the capital to open your shop? I see.” What he didn’t see was why the thought of letting Alex slip away bothered him. He hadn’t laid eyes on her fifteen minutes ago.

The best reason he could give for this odd crestfallen sensation was that McKendrick’s was his life. Making it the best it could be, aiming to get it on every five-star list, was what drove him. Anything that negatively affected McKendrick’s messed with his life and his plans for the future. Given that, Alex had seemed like a gift. That must be why he felt let down.

She had ducked her head, refusing to look directly at him for the first time since they’d begun their conversation. “Well, I’m not actually close to having the capital. It’s expensive living in California. But I’m working on it and getting closer.”

Alex sounded so apologetic that Wyatt wanted to smile. As if the state of the economy was her fault. Still, he saw one last opportunity—one he would grasp. He’d been called a lone wolf before, a man with no ties, one who followed the scent of whatever he wanted, relentlessly. It was an apt description. He needed to succeed, and right now he felt the thrill of having discovered Alexandra’s weak spot.

“So if I offered you a better salary—” he named an amount large enough that Alex jerked her head up “—and promised to find you work equivalent to what you’ve been doing if this doesn’t work out, or when you return to San Diego in two months, even that wouldn’t convince you to become my concierge?”

Somehow that last phrase had come out a bit wrong: too sensual, too possessive. Dammit, it had sounded as if he was offering to put her up as his mistress.

And she was looking like a pretty sable rabbit that wanted to take the bait but was wary of anything offered by a wolf.

Suddenly she looked him square in the eyes, rose to her feet and smiled. The pretty rabbit disappeared, replaced by a very human, very lovely woman. “This is very tempting and totally unexpected. When I came downstairs today I was looking for a menu, not a job. I love my home. I have friends there that I don’t want to give up. I have hopes and dreams, and all of them are based in San Diego.”

That statement alone should have sent chills down his spine. People who used the term hopes and dreams tended to be breakable people. He steered clear of them.

“Your…dreams,” he said, “may be centered in San Diego but taking this job would help you reach your goals much more quickly. You could raise the capital you need.”

She closed her eyes.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

She didn’t answer at first. For a second he thought he heard her counting beneath her breath. He did hear her counting. But when she got to six, she opened her eyes.

“What am I doing? I’m trying not to say yes,” she said with a groan. “I need time. Because if I make the wrong decision we might both regret it. This whole situation…it’s completely crazy. I just came here for the weekend. I have friends I’m flying back with.”

“I’ll refund the price of your airline ticket.”

She raised her brows. “Somehow that won’t solve the problem. ”

“Problem?”

“I have a reputation for jumping into fires that burn me. I promised myself I’d stop that. Agreeing to do this…I mean, just look at you.”

Wyatt waited. She clearly had more to say.

“I can hear their thoughts already. Some good-looking resort owner asks Alex to please help him and what does she do? She leaps right in. They’ll think I’ve lost my mind. I—no. I need to be smart.”

Don’t push her, Wyatt told himself. Hadn’t everything she’d told him indicated that she had a tendency to let her emotions guide her? No matter what his gut instincts were saying, that wasn’t what he was looking for. He’d had a lifetime of bad experiences with people whose emotions dictated their actions, and up until he was old enough to be on his own he’d been forced to suffer the bitter consequences.

Still, this was short-term work they were discussing.

“A sensible person trying to save money would go for the gold, wouldn’t she?” Wyatt asked.

Alex frowned. “Maybe she would. But I…This is a big step. I really should go. I’ll need to think this through.”

Before he could say one word, she had moved to the door.

“Alex?” he said, before the door had opened an inch.

She turned to look at him.

“Don’t think it through too much,” he said. “Stay here. I’ll make it worth your while.”

A woman—someone other than Alex—gasped. Alex swung the door wide to reveal three women. Wyatt wanted to groan. He was very careful to keep his personal and business life separate. In fact, he’d opted not to have much of a personal life.

Alex was blushing prettily, but she held her chin high. “Jayne, Serena, Molly—meet Wyatt McKendrick, my potential new boss. Wyatt, these are my best friends.”

And obviously very protective of Alex, from the looks of them. He nodded to the three openly curious women. “It’s very nice to meet you. I’m hoping that Alex will make me a very happy innkeeper. I need her.”

Wrong thing to say. Her friends’ expressions said that he was a wolf and Alex was a tasty lamb. They would try to convince her not to take the position.

But he was determined to have her. It wasn’t just the way she’d handled Belinda’s situation and the customers. It was how she’d stood up to him. Not many people dared to question him. She was brave without being overbearing. It was a good quality for a concierge.

Or a woman. He frowned at that out-of-place thought and, leaning down, whispered in Alex’s ear, upping the salary he had proposed earlier. “I really do need help,” he said.

“What did he whisper to you?” one of her friends asked. Good. They were looking out for her. He liked his employees to have strong support systems. He’d grown up without one, so he didn’t require one, but most people did. It made for a happy, productive employee.

Still, he was on a mission. “How much time do you need?”

“I leave tomorrow afternoon.”

“Then think it over tonight. I’ll meet you here tomorrow morning at eight. And…Alexandra?”

The startled look in her eyes told him that very few people called her by her full name. Good.

She waited.

“Say yes,” he told her.

“You might regret it,” she said, “but I’ll consider it.”

Was she right? Would he regret being hasty? Most likely. Alex Lowell was very appealing. That could be a problem. He didn’t make personal connections, and that was an unbreakable rule. Yes, he would regret pursuing Alex.

But he would also regret not pursuing her. He only hired the best, and his infallible instinct, which had enabled a rebellious, angry young man to build an empire out of nothing, told him that she was the best.

And he wanted her.

CHAPTER THREE

ALEX felt as if she’d just jumped out of an airplane and realized she didn’t know how to pull the cord on her chute. A thousand questions were firing in her brain as she and her friends headed to her room. What had just happened? She had expected Wyatt to ask her to give him a play-by-play of her experience with Belinda. Instead he’d offered her a job and an obscene amount of money. She remembered that much. But mostly she remembered how every time Wyatt had looked at her, her entire body had reacted as if she’d just discovered, at age twenty-eight, the difference between men and women. And why some women got into hairpulling contests over a virile man or tattooed men’s names on their bodies.

Wyatt was going to be a problem. And not because of anything he would say or do. Oh, no.

It was all her. She was the problem. The man made her hands shake with awareness of her body. She’d practically had to sit on them to keep them still, and she couldn’t have that. Her relationships with men had always been awful, starting with her father’s and stepfather’s abandonment of her. She still remembered running after her stepfather’s car, begging him to stop. It had been the beginning of a life of over-achievement, of volunteering to help men with their problems, only to get her heart broken. But her last awful experience with Michael had been the worst. A child had been harmed by that relationship, so she was through. And since she loved being independent with no need of a man, her instant reaction to Wyatt should have been a blaring warning that she was in danger of making a major mistake. The only sensible thing to do in such a situation was—

“Run back to San Diego.” She muttered the words beneath her breath.

“What did you say?” Molly asked.

“I said that you don’t have to worry about me,” she told her friends as they entered the hotel room she was sharing with Jayne. The truth was that she could handle the worrying about herself part of things just fine.

“You can’t come to Las Vegas for a weekend and end up staying,” Jayne said. “Alex, that’s insane. You could get hurt.”

Alex shook her head. “No, I can’t. I have new rules for myself. Parameters. If I took this, it would be just a job.” One she’d have turned down instantly if Wyatt hadn’t made it difficult to say no. “I love your hair, by the way.”

Alex, Molly and Serena had pitched in to give Jayne a salon treatment, and she’d had her waist-length hair cut short. Alex knew it was because Jayne’s fickle fianc´e had loved her long hair.

“Thank you, but that won’t work,” Jayne said.

“What won’t?” As if Alex didn’t understand.

“She means that you can’t distract us,” Molly said, frowning. “Alex, we’re worried about you. We know running into Michael and his daughter hurt you last week. If you stay here alone…well, we don’t want you to stay here alone.”

Alex’s throat began to close up. Molly, Serena and Jayne had been there for her when Michael had broken her heart and her spirit. They’d had her back…always.

“Thank you, but don’t worry. I haven’t decided yet what I’m doing.”

“Decide no,” Serena said. “This is too big a change to make so quickly.”

“Yes, it is,” Alex agreed. “I totally agree.”

Jayne and Molly and Serena looked at each other.

“You’re going to do it, aren’t you?” Serena asked.

“I probably shouldn’t, but when he was whispering to me…”

Alex’s breath caught at the memory of Wyatt’s breath lifting her hair, tickling her ear.

Molly snapped her fingers in front of Alex’s face. “Come back, Alex.”

Alex blinked. “I wasn’t daydreaming. I was thinking.”

“About…?” Jayne prompted.

“She was thinking about Mr. McKendrick whispering in her ear. In that very sexy way,” Serena said.

Serena didn’t miss a trick. It was best not to let anyone focus too much on how irresistibly sexy Wyatt was.

“This has nothing to do with Mr. McKendrick’s hotness factor. The thing is…he offered me three times my current salary,” Alex said. “Then he upped it again.”

Jayne’s eyebrows rose. “I think we better sit down while you tell us what happened. You only stepped out to get a menu.”

“Talking about this is a great idea,” Molly agreed, sitting on the bed. “Talking you out of it would be even better.”

“Spill it, Lowell, and make it good,” Serena said.

Alex sighed. They had a point. Going through what had happened would clear her thoughts. As it was, the whole episode was a blur of excitement.

“Okay.” She sat down cross-legged on the bed. “It all began with the pregnant concierge going into labor…”

A smile lifted Serena’s lips. “You certainly know how to begin a story.”

But Jayne wasn’t smiling when the story ended. “Careful, sweetie. I smell heartbreak if you stay. Wyatt McKendrick looks like a man who’s run through a lot of women. Rich, sophisticated women.”

And Alex wasn’t either rich or sophisticated.

“But he’s offering you your dream, isn’t he?” Molly asked. “The chance to open your shop sooner. That’s the appeal, isn’t it?”

“Partly,” Alex said. “Without this chance I might never make enough money to open the shop. But it’s more than that. All my life I’ve ended up in situations where I had no power and no stable home. After my father and my stepfather left, my mother struggled to support us. Sometimes we got evicted. We never had a real home. Later, there were men. Always temporary. Robert, the athlete I tutored, who left me for the prom queen; Leo, the painfully shy guy I mentored and turned into a woman-magnet only to have him slip away with someone he’d known all his life. Then Michael…He was struggling to be a single father. I was helping him. I thought we were going to make a home together, but we’re not.”

“Alex,” Jayne said. “That’s what worries me. I read somewhere that McKendrick’s is competing for an award and…we know you so well. You’re too darn warm-hearted. You jump in to help and end up getting hurt by men who don’t appreciate what you’ve done for them.”

“Which is exactly why I’m safe this time,” Alex said. “Jayne, I’m aware of the mistakes I’ve made in the past. Those men I helped and fell in love with but who didn’t love me back—they were my training ground. The scars I picked up will protect me, because now I know that if I want a home—and I do, more than anything—I’ll have to make my own. From now on I’m declaring my independence from men who never offer forever or stability, anyway. I’m going after what I want, and when I get that shop I’m putting my whole heart in it. The money Wyatt is offering me could help speed up that process.”

“What about your Web site?” Molly asked.

“I can update that from anywhere.”

“You’ll probably be living at the hotel. That won’t be anything like a home. You know how you cling to that little apartment you’ve lived in for four years.”

“I know, but I won’t be here long.”

“So you’re staying?”

“I don’t know. It’s difficult. I’d miss all of you and…wow…this has happened so quickly that I’m not thinking straight. I do know that during those moments when I was manning the concierge desk it was exciting and…powerful. A little taste of what it’ll be like running my own place. It was totally crazy, but I liked it.”

“And then along came gorgeous Wyatt McKendrick, offering to let you have that power every single day,” Serena suggested.

Alex and Serena studied each other. She knew that Serena was worried about the possibility of Wyatt hurting her if she stayed here without her friends as a buffer.

“If I stayed, it wouldn’t have anything to do with Wyatt,” she said. “I only spent a few minutes with him.”

“So in those few minutes what did you think?” Molly asked.

“He runs a great hotel,” Alex said. Good answer.

“How about those eyes? I love amber eyes,” Serena said.

“But they’re green.” Alex frowned…and then groaned.

“Alex…” Jayne said, but Alex shook her head.

“If it makes you feel better, if I do decide to take this job, it won’t be because Wyatt has gorgeous eyes.”

“But I’ll bet it doesn’t hurt,” Molly said sympathetically.

No, it didn’t. And that might be a problem. If she stayed, she would have to keep a constant watch over her traitorous body and emotions. Fortunately she’d already been exposed to the dangers of making emotional mistakes. She was getting quite good at the recovery and moving on part, and she was determined to conquer the avoidance part, too. All she had to do was remember one thing: Wyatt was the kind of man who would break her heart without even being aware of it. So there could be no fantasizing about him. At all.

“Just…don’t make this decision in haste,” Jayne said.

“We wish you’d come home with us,” Molly added.

A part of Alex agreed. Home was a known quantity. Her apartment was tiny, but unlike this job it wasn’t temporary. Her real job offered no excitement but no dangers, either.

“I’ll probably leave with you,” Alex agreed.

Unless I don’t, she thought. Inwardly, she sighed and started counting to ten. She kept counting until her urge to decide quickly, take the money and worry about the potential pitfalls later, subsided.

After dinner, Serena and Molly went out to a hotel bar, but Alex and Jayne chose an evening by one of the hotel’s pools. Both of them wanted some quiet time, and the Amber Moon Pool, with its fragrant tropical landscaping, underwater amber lights, lowkey background music and swinging hammocks was just the “escape to paradise” mood they wanted. The stress Jayne had been going through and the weekend’s nonstop activity had left her exhausted. She needed to recharge her engine before finishing up tomorrow, and Alex just needed the relaxation of water.

“I need to think,” Alex told her friends.

“You’re supposed to be having fun,” Serena reminded her.

Alex thought back to those adrenaline-charged minutes when she had controlled the lobby of McKendrick’s and she smiled. “I am having fun,” she said. Too much fun, maybe, but…

She knew then that she was going to say yes to Wyatt McKendrick’s job offer. It probably wasn’t that dangerous, anyway. He was, as Jayne had said, a man who probably had a lot of women, so he wouldn’t be interested in her. She wouldn’t be spending much time with him. At least outside of her daydreams.

Wyatt was surprised at his impatience to hear Alex’s decision. He had hired and fired lots of people, always basing his decisions on what was best for the hotel. Firing someone was unpleasant. But hiring? Completely a cut-and-dried decision.

It’s just the timing, he thought. He’d already been cutting things close, trying to locate someone of Belinda’s caliber. Losing her so soon had caught him off-guard. So his mood had nothing to do with Alex’s blue eyes or the curve of her mouth when she smiled.

But when he saw her crossing the lobby, in a poppy-red dress that showed off those amazing long legs, his gut tightened. His male antenna went on full alert. Too bad he was never going to do anything about that.

She smiled at him tentatively. If there was ever a look of “just let me get through this,” Alex was wearing it.

Wyatt steeled himself for her Thank you, but… speech.

Instead, her smile grew as she drew closer. “So, what do we do first?” she asked. “If I’m going to do this, I want to be good at it.”

A slow thrum of pleasure slid through his body. “You’ll be good at it.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Didn’t we have this discussion yesterday? The one where you tried to convince me that you might be a criminal?”

“I did not. I merely implied that you didn’t know anything about me.” That pretty little nose lifted in the air. Somehow Wyatt kept from smiling.

“I think I might have mentioned that I intend to find out all about you. I may have seen your raw talent, but I assure you that I’m a very astute businessman.”

“As if I didn’t know that. I mean…look at this place, Mr. McKendrick.”

“It’s Wyatt. All my employees call me Wyatt.”

She raised a brow. For half a second he thought she was going to give him a lecture on sound business practices. He half wished that she would, just for the entertainment value of it.

Instead she shook herself, as if forbidding herself to give that lecture. “Well, okay. Wyatt. But anyone can see that this place is a palace, and you’re the man who keeps the lights lit. It’s obvious that you know what you’re doing.”

“And you’re worried that you won’t know what you’re doing?”

“If I leave my job to do this and things don’t work out, I’ll be worse off than I was before I said yes.”

“Things will work out. I’ll train you.”

“If you do that, you might as well do the job yourself.”

He arched an eyebrow.

“What?” she asked.

“I’ve never met anyone who tried so hard to convince me not to hire them.”

“I just want to make sure we understand each other.”

He looked into her eyes. “Okay, here’s my part. I need a concierge and I’ve decided you’re it. Barring a major miscalculation on my end, you’ll slide into the job smoothly. Now, you tell me your part.”

She stared right back. “I intend to be the best darn substitute concierge you’ve ever seen.”

“Only the best substitute?”

She lifted one delicate shoulder in a shrug, an action that wasn’t meant to be erotic but turned Wyatt hot. “Well, I didn’t want to sound like I was dissing Belinda.”

“I’m sure she’d appreciate that.”

“How is she?”

“Mother of a baby girl named Misty.”

“Oh, I love that name. I’ll bet she’s a sweetheart.” The look of naked longing in Alex’s eyes served as a warning to Wyatt. Alex could apparently make him burn just by lifting her shoulder an inch, but she was not a woman he could desire. She was the hearth and home type, and he’d never be that guy. He’d missed that imprinting process.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“Yes. There’s just one thing.”

“And that is…”

“When the afternoon comes, my friends are leaving…”

“Friends. Of course.”

He wasn’t a man who cultivated friendships. Another failure to imprint, he supposed. Or…no. It was a choice. Letting people get close enabled them to see too much and gave them too much power. It left a person vulnerable, and he would never do anything that left him vulnerable again. Still, he understood the value of promoting the goodwill of employees.

“You’ll want to see them off.”

“They’re my closest friends.”

“Friends who are on vacation with you.”

“Yes, but I made a deal with you.”

“And I’ll expect you to be on duty every day, beginning tomorrow. I demand punctuality and good attendance from my employees, but frankly you saved my rear, so I’m not inclined to make you cut your vacation short. We’ll manage to scrape by one more day by having people do double duty and juggling a bit. Fortunately I have no meetings scheduled, and I’m capable of directing people around my own facility when necessary.”

She frowned again. “Already I don’t like the way this is starting. Your other employees will resent being asked to cover for me.”

“My other employees know who signs their paychecks. They also know I’ll compensate them for their trouble and that I’ll return the favor when they need an emergency day off.”

“I don’t like to shirk my duties.”

Wyatt gave her his most intimidating look—the one that had been known to make those on his payroll shake in their shoes. “We’re not going to argue about this.”

Alex looked completely unperturbed. “No, of course not. I’m totally aware that you’re in charge, but still…”

Again he had that urge to smile, and Wyatt had never been a man given to smiles. Without missing a beat, he stepped over to a cabinet, opened a drawer, pulled out a handful of brochures and held them out to Alex.

“What’s this?”

“Homework. If you’re going to play hooky, I’ll at least expect you to start educating yourself about the local attractions and the hotel.”

The woman’s smile could have lit the ballroom at McKendrick’s. The impact of it nearly sent Wyatt reeling. “I’ll do that. Is there anything else?”

Yes. Stop smiling, he wanted to say. Stop making me think of you as a woman I want to touch, and just be what you have to be, a very temporary employee. “Yes, there is one thing.”

She waited.

“Enjoy your day off.”

“I will. And…thank you.”

“For what?”

Her lips curved up more. “You’re making it possible for me to fulfill my dreams.”

Wyatt wanted to groan. He wished she hadn’t said that. Dreamers were delicate creatures who could be easily hurt by men like him. He’d been a dreamer once, a long time ago. These days he gave the naive and the innocently optimistic a wide berth.

“Meet me here first thing tomorrow. I’ll get you started.”

Because the sooner he got her established, the sooner he could start thinking of her as just another employee.

He hoped.

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